This New Zealand Life

Pineapple lump epiphany

Lump the taste from wikicommons

Comment: If you spend any length of time in New Zealand it won't take you long to come across the fabled sweets that have a reputation out of all proportion to their generally tasteless, odourless and - let's face it - sweet-less character.

Odd celebrations, weighty bread and uncompromising fairness

Kiwis have an underdeveloped part of the brain responsible for getting the rounds in.

Blog roundup: New Zealanders have some strange customs and habits that this week's blogs examine.

Migration a small plus to veteran Kiwis

New Zealand's population aged 65 years and over is projected to eclipse one million in the late 2020s.

Migrants will add little to NZ's aging population, says Statistics New Zealand.

Experience real life in New Zealand

In goggle-eyed and stunned disbelief as the schedule pummels your intelligence to grey-mash.

Blog Roundup: Crash barriers Kiwi style, NZ TV and why immigration advice might be illegal.

A nation of pyromaniacs

Comment: Few activities give a red-blooded male more pleasure than lighting a fire. But when your fingers are blue from cold you begin to wonder if there isn't a better way of keeping warm.

Minimise your cost of living in NZ

"The $100 a week budget was inspired by necessity"

The cost of living in New Zealand can be shocking, but there are ways to minimise your weekly outgoings as Lyn Webster tells ThisNZLife.

Lifestyle freedom New Zealand

Free range horses, Wairarapa style

Mike Ferguson is certainly not bound by convention, and when you hear his plans you can see why New Zealand is probably the only place able to accommodate his ideas.

How to enjoy This New Zealand Life

AS WELL as the blog which is updated every work day, This NZ Life is also available from a number of other sources.

NZ life centred on cities

A NEW analytical report from Statistics New Zealand finds half the population works in just three main cities of Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury.

Commuting Patterns in New Zealand: 1996–2006 explores commuting patterns in New Zealand between 1996 and 2006, and shows the increasing dominance of employment within urban areas and that more people are travelling to the largest cities.

New Zealand Links

HERE is a list of useful and entertaining blogs and micro-publications on the theme of life in New Zealand.

The accidental migrant

I remember sitting outside a Napier cafe on a lovely sunny day and saying to myself 'I could live here without too much difficulty'

While many Brits make a determined decision to emigrate to New Zealand, some live happily in the Land of the Ring by happen stance. So what string of accidents can make a curious arrival stay for the long term?